Chapter 2

:
Instrument
development
Language Tests

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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report

2 Instrument development - Language tests
The ELSC is a collaborative effort by the participating countries, the European
Commission and SurveyLang, guided by shared policy-driven interests. Each partner
is responsible for particular areas of the survey and although these work areas vary in
The aim is to deliver an indicator of
language competences to provide information on the general level of foreign language
knowledge of the pupils in the Member States in order to help policy makers, teachers
and practitioners to take decisions how to improve the foreign language teaching
methods and thus the performance of pupils. The aim of the SurveyLang language
testing group has been to develop language tests the results of which are comparable
across the five languages and all participating countries.
Developing the language tests was methodologically complex, requiring intensive
collaboration among the members of the language testing group: University of
Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL)
pédagogiques (CIEP), Goethe Institut, Università per Stranieri di Perugia and
Universidad de Salamanca.
The successful delivery of the language test instruments depended on the use, and
further development, of state of the art methodologies and technologies. This chapter
describes the processes adopted to develop the language tests, and support the
development of a European Indicator of Language Competences.
The approach adopted by SurveyLang in designing the language test instruments is
summarised as follows:
define a language testing framework that incorporates the aims and
objectives of the ESLC
(i)

out of this framework, develop initial specifications, a set of draft task
types and a draft test development process
(ii)

(iii)

pilot the initial specifications and draft task types

gather feedback from all relevant stakeholders including the Advisory
Board, the participating countries, teachers and students. Review this feedback
together with the analysis of the pilot results
(iv)

further develop the initial specifications into final item writer guidelines
and agree on a collaborative test development process to be shared across the
five languages
(v)

undertake a rigorous item development programme in order to develop
language tests for the Main Study, the results of which would be comparable
across the five languages and all participating countries.
(vi)

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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report

To ensure that the items used in the Main Study were fit for purpose and of the
required level of quality, the language testing team produced and trialled a large
number of items over the course of the development programme. Over 100 tasks were
piloted in 2008 in order to finalise the test specifications and agree on the most
appropriate task types to be used in the ESLC. The team then produced over 500
tasks (2200+ items) which were then exhaustively trialled through the Pretesting and
Field Trial stages before the best-performing items were selected. For the Main Study,
143 tasks (635 items) were used across the five languages.
The first part of this chapter describes the language testing framework that
incorporates the aims and objectives of the ESLC and provides the basis for the
development of the language testing instruments. Section 2.2 describes the item
development process that was designed to allow the language partners to work
together in a highly collaborative and intensive way. From section 2.2 the text goes on
to describe the different work areas within the detailed, multi-stage development cycle
designed to deliver high-quality, fit for purpose language tests. Section 2.5 describes
the final test design implemented in the Main Study.

2.1 Development of the language testing framework
The Commission specified The Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment as the framework against which to
measure language learning outcomes for the ESLC, reflecting the widespread impact
which this document has had since its publication in 2001. The language tests
developed for the ESLC
-oriented, functional model
of language use, while ensuring relevance for 15 17 year-olds in a school setting. The
sociolearning, and identifies two dimensions the social dimension of language in use, and
the cognitive dimension of language as a developing set of competences, skills and
knowledge. Applying these allowed the definition of testable abilities at each
proficiency level. To enable the resulting test construct to be implemented comparably
across languages, these abilities were mapped to specific task types, drawing chiefly
their operational exams.
The approach to developing the language testing framework by SurveyLang is
summarised as follows:
identify the relevant aims and objectives of the ESLC, including the language
skills to be tested
for each skill, identify the test content and a set of testable subskills or abilities
derived from a socio-cognitive model of language proficiency and a listing of
language functions or competences found to be salient at each level from A1
to B2 in the descriptor scales of the CEFR
identify the most appropriate task types to test these subskills

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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report

create a test design that presents combinations of tasks to students in such a
way as to maximise the quality of interpretable response data collected while
not overburdening the sampled students
adopt a targeted approach to testing where pupils are given a test at an
appropriate level of challenge
develop specifications, item writer guidelines and a collaborative test
development process that are shared across languages in order to produce
language tests that are comparable.
These steps are described in this chapter.

2.1.1 Requirements of the language tests
A number of key aims and objectives of the ESLC impacted on the design of the
language testing instruments:
for each country, the ESLC should cover tests in the first and second most
commonly taught official European languages in the European Union from
English, French, German, Italian and Spanish
test performance should be interpreted with reference to the scale of the
Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR)
the tests should assess performance at levels A1-B2 of the CEFR
performance should be reported at the level of the group, not the individual
the ESLC should assess competence in the 3 language skills which may be
assessed most readily, i.e. Listening comprehension, Reading comprehension
and Writing
instruments for testing in these 3 competences should be developed, taking
into account the previous experience and knowledge in the field at
international, Union and national level
results must be comparable across 5 languages and all participating countries
tests must be available in both paper-based and computer-based formats.
Previous international surveys had translated tests across languages but it was a key
aim of this survey to create parallel but not identical tests across the five languages,
thereby making the issue of cross language comparability a crucial one.

2.1.2 Defining test content in terms of the CEFR
Test content was approached using the categories proposed by the CEFR (Council of
Europe 2001 chapter 4). As the CEFR stresses, these categories are illustrative and
suggestive, rather than exhaustive. However, the listed elements provide a useful
starting point for selecting appropriate content.
The CEFR identifies four basic domains of language use:
personal
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report

concert. The CEFR refers to the categories provided in
Threshold {Van Ek. {Van Ek.public
educational
professional
The first three are most relevant to the ESLC. 1998 #722}. 1998 #723}.
subcategorised in the following way:
leisure
hobbies and interests
radio and TV
cinema. etc. each of which defines a range
of topic-specific notions.
which are the meanings and
the specific situation. These too provide a
useful starting point for selecting appropriate content.
Communication themes are the topics which are the subjects of discourse.
sports.
Topic-specific notions contrast with general notions. 2000 #4292}. museums. The
notions are expressed are an
in a communicatively-oriented
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. Example headings of these are:
personal identification
house and home. etc.
concepts expressed through language whatever
lexicogrammatical means through which such general
important aspect of selection and sequencing content
syllabus. environment
daily life
free time.
conversation. theatre. reflection or composition. which appear in very similar form in the Waystage
and Vantage levels {Van Ek. entertainment
travel
relations with other people.
exhibitions.
Below these major thematic headings are sub-themes. The CEFR illustrates each domain in
terms of situations described in terms of:
the locations in which they occur
relevant institutions or organisations
the persons involved
the objects (animate and inanimate) in the environment
the events that take place
the operations performed by the persons involved
the texts encountered within the situation.

internet. provide a
general rather than setting-specific taxonomy of language in social use.
computers. relations with animals.
Consideration of which domains of language use are most relevant to target language
learners at different proficiency levels informed a decision as to the proportion of tasks
relating to each of the domains mentioned above across the four levels of the ESLC. i. hobbies
leisure: sport. musicians. the 15 17 year old students
participating in this survey.
Table 4 Domain distribution across levels
A1
A2
B1
B2
personal
60%
50%
40%
25%
public
30%
40%
40%
50%
educational
10%
10%
20%
20%
professional
0%
0%
0%
5%
Each domain was then divided into topics and sub-topics as specified below:
Personal:
family: family celebrations and events. going out
h
objects: those related to new technology (telephone.e. cinema. game consoles. shared tastes. actors. reading. those related to fashion and brands
pets: presence/absence. music. The major
headings relevant to the tested skills are:
imparting and seeking information
expressing and finding out attitudes
deciding and managing course of actions (Suasion)
socialising
structuring discourse. and discussed in the CEFR as an aspect of pragmatic competence. peer
group identity.
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. etc. brotherssisters. personal character. relationships (parent-child.
Public:
people: sports stars. etc. The final choice of test content
was made by considering the approach proposed by the CEFR in conjunction with the
characteristics of the target language users. notions and functions provided the basis for
categorising and selecting texts for use in the ESLC.Similarly the list of language functions provided in the Waystage-Threshold-Vantage
levels.).
Together these communication themes. relationships between boys and girls. grandchildren-grandparents)
friends: groups versus individuals. shared problems.

swimming pool.
motorbike. This complements t
of the cognitive dimension and provides useful practical models of language skills as
cognitive processes and ways of refining a description of progression. shopping
holidays: beach. were considered unsuitable.1.official: representatives of the law (justice. politics. administration. was adopted as the
means to identify the subskills to be tested.
associations
going out: cinema. etc.
Educational:
people: students. classrooms. documents outlining jobs
and careers
events: work placements and sandwich courses. concerts. sociocultural
experiences. health. serious family problems.
It was important that test materials did not contain anything that might offend or upset
candidates. studying languages abroad
objects: books. school staff
school trips: exchanges with penpals. A detailed list of unsuitable topics was provided in the
Item Writer Guidelines. thereby potentially affecting their performance or distracting them during
the examination. foreign travel
objects: favourite food. other purchases for school. summer jobs. discotheques. etc.
Professional:
people: careers advisors. mountain. favourite and least favourite jobs
accessing the job market: workshops for students. domains overlap. restaurant. discovering a country. 2005 #726}. town. etc. representatives of the world of work
professions: choice of future profession. stadiums. classroom equipment
places: primary and secondary school. police. shows. an approach
coherent with other recent discussions of theories of test design.
etc. country. Thus. and some tasks might be classified under
more than one domain. etc.
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.)
events: accidents. relationships with money.3 The constructs of Reading.
theatre. modes of transport (bicycle. exam results.
2.
As the above list suggests. certain topics such as war. learning to drive with parents. domains and
topics were assigned to tasks at the commissioning stage. open days. school environment
events: school festivals. teachers. illness.). Listening and Writing
The socio-cognitive validation framework proposed by {Weir. To ensure adequate coverage across the ESLC.

Interactive models of reading comprehension expect both directions of processing (i. language knowledge and content
knowledge. then words.
discourse conventions. In topdown models. in performing reading task(s) in real life. building a mental model that relates
the text to the
the world
search reading for main idea(s). It allows us to describe progression across the CEFR levels to be
surveyed in a way which practically informs test design and item writing.g. cognitive psychology.4 The construct of Reading
Over the last century.e.
Different types or purposes for reading are identified which employ different strategies
and processing.
top-down and bottom-up) to proceed simultaneously as well as to interact and
influence each other: reading involves the simultaneous application of elements such
as context and purpose along with knowledge of grammar. meaning is
constructed as the readers integrate what is in the text and what they already have.
Bottom-up models of reading comprehension pictured proficient readers as those who
process a written text by working their way up the scale of linguistic units starting with
identification of letters. This cognitive view of reading is currently shared by researchers in the
fields of psycholinguistics. and metacognitive awareness in order
to develop an appropriate meaning {Hudson. graphemic knowledge.e. etc. socio-political. when the reader is not sure what form
the information may appear in
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.1. reading research has moved from viewing the reading process
as a bottom-up process to a top-down process and finally to an interactive one. In terms of cognitive demand a general progression is posited as follows:
scanning reading selectively to achieve very specific goals such as finding a
name or date
careful local reading
skimming for gist
establishing the basic meaning of a proposition
quick superficial reading
careful global reading for comprehending main idea(s). Global reading
activates all components of the model. A parallel sociolinguistic and discourse
analytic view considers how textual products function within a given context. vocabulary.2. and language assessment and it
applies to both L1 and L2 reading ability. A distinction is made between expeditious and careful reading. 1991 #5854}.
educational. The cognitive
validity of a reading task is a measure of how closely it elicits the cognitive processing
involved in contexts beyond the test itself.
The process of reading
conceptual abilities and process strategies.
Weir (2005) brings together these two perspectives in a socio-cognitive framework for
test validation. Search reading is sampling the text to extract
information on a predetermined topic. comprehension takes place when readers integrate incoming
ures). i. e. then sentences and finally text meaning. content.e. understanding at the sentence level or the text
as a whole). and
between local and global reading (i.

notices and announcements
Reading at A2
also a suggestion of some
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. i.
Reading abilities tested at A1
1
Reading a simple postcard or email.
Appropriate macrofunctions for continuous texts are narration and description.e.
Reading at A1
The CEFR illustrative scales stress the very limited nature of reading competence at
an idea of the content of simpler informational material and short simple descriptions. environment. announcements. identifying factual information relating to personal and
familiar themes
2
Understanding word-level topic-specific notions from personal and familiar domains
3
Understanding general notions (existential. spatial. Capacity to infer
meaning is very limited. timetables. personal
identification. relational) as used to describe pictures or
graphically displayed information
4
Finding predictable factual information in texts such as notices.
controlled for lexicogrammatical difficulty.
Appropriate communication themes relate to the personal and familiar. daily life. free time and entertainment. e.
menus.g.careful global reading to comprehend a single text
careful global reading to comprehend several texts. hence the importance of non-linguistic (e. graphic) support. with some visual support
5
Understanding signs.
especially if there is visu
Decoding text and accessing lexical meaning represents a major cognitive load at this
level. house and home. Noncontinuous texts (notices. Texts used in test tasks at A1 will be semi-authentic. This limits capacity to apply syntactic knowledge to parse sentences and
establish propositional meanings at clause or sentence level. advertisements etc) are appropriate for testing the ability to
find specific information.g.

concrete themes.
Themes are as A1. Comprehension
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. e. Texts used in test tasks at A2 will be semi-authentic.
Reading abilities tested at A2
4
Finding predictable factual information in texts such as notices. This corresponds to the notion of careful global reading to
forming a
broad understanding. controlled for
lexicogrammatical difficulty. description and instruction.g. timetables. Non-continuous texts
(notices. but there is more scope
to introduce topics of general interest. plus routine everyday transactions. shopping.
menus. announcements. free time and
entertainment. 230 words)
7
Understanding routine functional exchanges. i.e. including argumentative texts.More automated decoding enables the learner to deal with longer texts and make
more use of syntactic knowledge to parse sentences and establish propositional
meanings at clause or sentence level. the B1 reader can begin
to use inference and apply topical or general knowledge to building a mental model of
the text as a whole. travel. services. food and drink. as occur in emails or conversation
8
Understanding personal letters
9
Understanding lexicostructural patterns in a short text
10
Reading several short texts for specific information and detailed comprehension
Reading at B1
The illustrative scales describe a useful functional competence with respect to texts
ings and
on
Better able to establish meanings at clause or sentence level. Appropriate macrofunctions
for continuous texts are narration. with some visual support
5
Understanding signs. The learner can begin to infer meanings of
unknown words from context.
Range at B1 is still mainly limited to familiar. advertisements etc) are appropriate for testing the ability to find specific
information. notices and announcements
6
Understanding the main ideas and some details of longer texts (up to c.

controlled for lexicogrammatical
difficulty.
Reading abilities tested at B1
7
Understanding signs. rhetorical tasks) to
construct a text level understanding.
Reading abilities tested at B2
10
Reading several short texts for specific information and detailed comprehension
11
Scanning a factual text for specific information
12
Reading for detailed comprehension and global meaning. including identifying opinions and points of view. adapting style and
speed of reading to different texts and purposes. and using appropriate reference
articles and reports on a wide range of pr
active reading vocabulary. understanding attitude.
and may be taken from authentic sources. i. notices and announcements
8
Understanding personal letters
9
Understanding lexicostructural patterns in a short text
10
Reading several short texts for specific information and detailed comprehension
11
Scanning a factual text for specific information
12
Reading for detailed comprehension and global meaning. cohesion and coherence
Reading at B2
degree of independence. Texts used in
test tasks at B1 will mostly be semi-authentic. though will still need to refer to a dictionary.
Already confident in the process of careful global reading to comprehend main ideas.
B2 readers can deal with a range of themes beyond the entirely familiar. it is
important that topics selected for the ESLC should be relevant and interesting for the
population tested.
the B2 reader can apply knowledge of text structure (genre. This relates to the PISA process of developing an
interpretation. understanding attitude. argumentative and expository texts will be appropriate. cohesion and coherence
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.extends beyond the retrieval of specific factual information to understanding the main
points of longer texts.e. opinion
and writer purpose
13
Using understanding of text structure. Informative. opinion
and writer purpose
13
Using understanding of text structure. however.

the important thing is not that
the test task is similar to the target-language use task. What is specific to listening is how speech is
perceived.5 The construct of Listening
While reading has to be taught.e. The main problem. and the core process in this is word recognition.
An alternative approach to defining the listening construct assumes that consistencies
in listening performance are due to the characteristics of the context in which the
listening takes place.1.
Nonetheless. once words
have been recognised the prosodic and intonational structure of speech plays a key
role in subsequent syntactic and discourse processing. In the assessment context. listening
In this sense. This interactive approach is
consistent with the premise that use of language skills such as listening. how can we realistically
achieve this? And if not.
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. reading. The competence-based approach assumes that
consistencies in listening performance are due to the characteristics of the test-taker
and that test scores indicate the level of underlying competence that manifests itself
across a variety of settings and tasks.e. which situations should we select? These issues have
practical implications for available resources and pose significant challenges for
establishing task comparability across test versions. Models of communicative competence set out to
describe as comprehensively as possible the knowledge and skills L2 learners need in
order to use the language (i. etc. though.
is both psycholinguistically driven (i. listening is the more basic form of language comprehension. competency-focused) and contextually driven
(i. many of the processes of language comprehension are assumed to be
common to listening and reading. there have been two approaches to defining the listening construct
competence-based and task-based. task-in-situation-focused). a major disadvantage of the competence-based approach is that it can be
very difficult to determine which test items actually assess the (sub)competencies (or
subskills) of interest. Moreover. In this more task-focused approach the interest is in what the
test-takers can do under specific circumstances.
In this approach both traits and tasks are used as the basis for construct definition and
test tasks are regarded as requiring similar competencies.
Traditionally. the listening skill) effectively. is how to
define the target-language use (TLU) situation in an appropriate way for testing
purposes.
Buck (2001:108) proposes a construct definition for listening based on the interaction
between competence and task: when making test tasks.
however. Do we need to cover all possible situations? If so.2.e. but the interaction between the
test-taker and the test task is similar to the interaction between the language user and
the task in the target-language use situation.

e.e. we can determine the language
functions. rhetorical functions and types of
inferencing we need to include in the test. we can also determine the cognitive skills and
metalinguistic strategies that are of interest and construct appropriate tasks. controlled for lexicogrammatical difficulty
and delivered slowly. discourse structures. spatial. accents. letter-sounds. though with natural pronunciation. days. level of phonological modification. indirect meanings) and
the appropriacy of linguistic forms. intonation and stress. syntax.g.
Appropriate communication themes relate to the immediate and personal. Texts used
in test tasks at A1 will be semi-authentic.
personal identification.e. often with visual support. There
should be coverage of general notions such as numbers. daily life.
Listening abilities tested at A1
1
Recording specific information in announcements or messages
2
Understanding general or topic-specific notions describing pictures or graphically-displayed
information
3
Identifying communicative function
4
Identifying the situation and/or the main idea in announcements. Additionally. temporal or quantitative notions.Careful definition of the contextual parameters of the target-language use context can
help determine which type of speakers. With these contextual features in mind.
Listening at A1
The illustrative descriptors stress that A1 represents a very low level of listening
nsion is
topics such as personal identification and family. messages or conversations
(short)
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.
A1 listeners operate in the here-and-now.
Decoding speech to identify words and access lexical meaning represents a major
cognitive load at this level. heavily dependent on cues provided by the immediate context. the immediate environment. vocabulary. we can then
select appropriate listening texts. They extract meanings at word and phrase
level. This severely limits capacity to apply syntactic knowledge
to parse sentences and establish propositional meanings at clause or sentence level. communicative load. the pragmatic implications (i. and
basic existential. house and home.
Texts are very short dialogues and monologues.
speed. i. Basic social language
functions may be tested.

shopping. Comprehension concerns understanding main points as well
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. intonation and stress. concrete themes as A2.
Texts are short dialogues and monologues. though with natural pronunciation. plus routine everyday transactions. food and drink. often with visual support.
enables the learner to deal with slightly longer texts and make more use of syntactic
knowledge to parse sentences and establish propositional meanings. particularly with respect to familiar word sequences. Texts used in
test tasks at A2 will be semi-authentic.e. i. e. controlled for lexicogrammatical difficulty
and delivered slowly. A2 listeners are
still dependent on sympathetic interlocutors and on contextual cues for understanding.
Listening abilities tested at A2
1
Recording specific information in announcements or messages
2
Understanding general or topic-specific notions describing pictures or graphically-displayed
information
3
Identifying communicative function
4
Identifying the situation and/or the main idea in announcements. messages or conversations
(short)
5
Understanding a longer dialogue (conversation.
Communication themes as A1. S/he has sufficient autonomy to use listening to learn new language.Listening at A2
The A2 listener c
simple messages and
More automated decoding. free time and
entertainment. services.
The B1 listener can process clearly-spoken texts sufficiently automatically to begin
using inference and topical or general knowledge to build a mental model of the text as
a whole.g. with some scope to introduce
topics of general interest. interview) True/False
Listening at B1
The illustrative descriptors for B1 identify a useful functional competence.
Range covers the same familiar. though still
. travel.

1. interview) MCQ
7
Understanding monologue (presentation.6 The construct of Writing
For many years the notion of writing was decontextualised and regarded primarily as
product-oriented. interview) True/False
6
Understanding a longer dialogue (conversation. interview) True/False
6
Understanding a longer dialogue (conversation. messages or conversations
(short)
5
Understanding a longer dialogue (conversation.
and may be taken from authentic sources. covering
This
listening to recorded or broadcast audio
material. messages or conversations (short)
5
Understanding a longer dialogue (conversation.
Although listening to more complex texts requires conscious effort. Listening texts used in test
tasks at B1 will be semi-authentic. where the various elements are coherently and accurately put
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.
Listening abilities tested at B2
4
Identifying the situation and/or the main idea in announcements. report) and interpreting information
2.
Listening abilities tested at B1
4
Identifying the situation and/or the main idea in announcements. interview) MCQ
7
Understanding monologue (presentation. argumentative and expository texts will be appropriate.as details. however. the B2 listener has
sufficiently automated decoding skills to focus on constructing text level understanding. controlled for lexicogrammatical difficulty. Informative.e.
B2 listeners can deal with a range of themes beyond the entirely familiar. it is
important that topics selected for the ESLC should be relevant and interesting for the
population tested. report) and interpreting information
Listening at B2
The illustrative descriptors identify a wide-ranging functional competence. including identifying opinions and points of view. i.

These differences are especially important when
constructing or developing appropriate tests of writing.
Context-based validity addresses the particular performance conditions or the setting
under which it is to be performed (such as purpose of the task. A definition of writing ability for
a specific context therefore needs to take account of the group of L2 writers identified
and the kinds of writing they would typically produce. and that is appropriately shaped for its intended audience . 1996
#5173}. L1 literacy and by their ability and opportunity to
write in a second language. {Hamp-Lyons. The socio-cognitive approach is
adopted where attention is paid to both context-based validity and to cognitive validity. that accomplishes
a particular purpose. 1997 #2987} offer a similar broad. This constitutes a socio-cognitive model of writing as Communicative
Language Use which takes into account both internal processing (i.e.
In line with current views on the nature of writing.
Research indicates that categories of L2 learners can be differentiated from each other
by their age.
According to this view. the linguistic patterns employed in a piece of writing are
influenced by contexts beyond the page which bring with them a variety of social
knowledge s/he wants to impart are accomplished by the text forms appropriate to that
social context.
specified addressee. length. and content knowledge. known marking criteria as well as the linguistic demands inherent
in the successful performance of the task) together with the actual examination
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. Writing is considered a
social act taking place in a specifiable context so particular attention needs to be paid
to:
potential audience and the conventions of the appropriate discourse
community as far as this can be specified
the purpose of the writing
the writer taking the responsibility for making explicit the connections between
the propositions and ideas they are conveying and structuring their writing
the importance of the demands the task makes in terms of language
knowledge: linguistic. the model adopted for this survey
looks beyond the surface structure manifested by the text alone. time available. Written products were largely viewed as ideal forms
capable of being analysed independently of any real-life uses.together according to a rule-governed system.
conceptual view of writing: an act that takes place within a context. cognitive or
psycholinguistic) and external. According to {Hayes. discoursal and sociolinguistic. writing has come to be viewed as a strongly contextualised
phenomenon which should not be disconnected from the writer and the
audience/purpose for whom/which the writer is writing. writing is fundamentally a communicative act: We write mainly to
communicate with other humans . the text product was seen as an
autonomous object and writing was considered independent of particular writers or
readers {Hyland. standard of education. it regards the text as
an attempt to engage the reader communicatively. 2002 #663}. contextual factors in writing.
More recently.

These parameters relate to the linguistic and
content demands that must be met for successful task completion as well as to
features of the task setting that serve to delineate the performance required.conditions resulting from the administrative setting. Postcards.
Writing at A1
phrases
registration form.
The A1 learner can produce very short texts based on a few learned phrases. S/he will
rely heavily on models and can only adapt these in limited.
Writing abilities tested at A1
1
Expressing general or topic-specific notions describing pictures or graphically-displayed information
2
Writing an email/postcard
3
Completing a form
Writing at A2
connectors like
The A2 learner can begin to use writing as a genuine communicative act and thus form
a conception of purpose and target reader. Appropriate tasks relate to routine.
personal and stereotypical. free time.
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. A1 writing themes are immediate. familiar
events. possibly based on
transforming information provided in text or graphic form. school. Cognitive processing in a writing
test never occurs in a vacuum but is activated in response to the specific contextual
parameters set out in the test task rubric. everyday
themes. Forms of writing include short letters and notes. notes and emails are appropriate text types. however. holidays. simple ways. S/he can begin to use and adapt syntactic
patterns to generate new propositions.
Forms have apparent authenticity at this level.
As indicated by the above CEFR descriptors. they tend to test reading as
much as writing at this level. basic personal and family information.

Writing abilities tested at B1
4
Completing a text.Writing abilities tested at A2
2
Writing an email/postcard
3
Completing a form
4
Completing a text. but can compose a simple referential text
particularly given a clear set of content points to work from. giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view
informa
26
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. showing understanding of lexicogrammatical relations
5
Writing a referential text (intended to inform)
Writing at B1
The illustrative descriptors at B1 identify a limited functional competence. The B1
The B1 learner still finds it difficult to plan. S/he has a greater
awareness of lexicogrammatical dependencies and may be able to self-correct. showing understanding of lexicogrammatical relations
5
Writing a referential text (intended to inform)
6
Writing a conative text (intended to persuade or convince)
7
Editing a piece of writing
Writing at B2
The illustrative descriptors at B2 identify a good functional competence over a range of
related to his/her field of interest. synthesising and evaluating information and
develops an argument.

S/he can engage
argument or expressing opinions. Letters.
2. For all languages the students were well distributed over the
tested ability levels.1 Major stages in the development process
There were five main stages in the development of the language testing instruments.
Writing abilities tested at B2
5
Writing a referential text (intended to inform)
6
Writing a conative text (intended to persuade or convince)
7
Editing a piece of Writing
How the language testing framework presented above was implemented in the
language tests is the subject of the next section. essays.2. Over 2000 items were pretested.2 Development of the language tests
2. Tasks were administered in
schools made available
Most of these schools were in Europe. reports are
appropriate texts. A total of 106 tasks were developed across the skills and languages. A total of 8283 students participated. and organize
arguments.
27
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. This sample was wholly adequate for the purposes of pretesting.
35 Listening tests and 60 Writing tests were produced.
Table 5 below shows the countries which participated in pretesting and the numbers of
students per country. reacting to an issue.
which can be summarised as follows:
2008 Development of the language testing framework
2008 The Pilot Study
2009 Pretesting
2010 The Field Trial
2011 The Main Study
The Pilot Study constituted a small-scale trial of proposed task types. etc.
Pretesting was a large-scale trial of all the test material developed for potential use in
the Main Study. Across languages 50 Reading tests. with
each language partner focusing on a different part of the ability range. and an
exploration of collaborative working methods that would favour consistency of
approach.The B2 learner can plan a piece of writing with a given audience in mind.

and to revise features of the test design and administration
procedures.
The Field Trial had the important aim of testing out the major technical and human
systems upon which successful delivery of the Main Study depended:
test construction. etc) was fully appropriate for the
target population.
Table 5 Pretesting: countries participating and numbers of students
English
French
Belgium
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Croatia
Italy
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Spain
Ukraine
112
120
30
375
200
30
150
355
225
Bulgaria
Estonia
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Scotland
Spain
Sweden
Turkey
150
16
100
295
695
274
195
163
105
Grand Total
1597
Grand Total
1993
German
Belarus
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Croatia
Denmark
Egypt
Finland
Germany
Ireland
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Mexico
Portugal
Senegal
Slovakia
Spain
Italian
280
49
148
30
84
0
36
7
73
41
60
46
15
34
30
17
Ireland
Spain
Switzerland
96
244
406
Grand Total
746
Spanish
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech republic
France
Holland
Hungary
Italy
Poland
Portugal
Romania
73
285
105
655
96
184
423
199
139
54
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.Tasks for the Field Trial were selected on the basis of the pretest review. printing and despatch procedures
delivery and administration of the language tests in both paper-based and
computer-based formats.
Additionally it provided a final opportunity to identify any poorly performing tasks. to
ensure that the test content (topic. This still meant that twice as much material
could be used in the Field Trial as would be needed for the Main Study. cognitive demand. during which
a third or more of tasks were dropped.

in terms
of content and task types.
The design needed to be implemented in the same way in each of the five languages.
as consistency of approach would maximise the comparability of outcomes. or Listening and
Writing.
29
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.2. A
student would only be tested in two of the three skills.
An important conditioning factor was the collaborative working methodology itself. and to their
progressive refinement through a series of empirical trials and the collection of
qualitative feedback.2 General test design considerations
As in most complex surveys. This was important because the range of
ability tested was very wide. The total amount of test material was determined by the need to
achieve adequate coverage of the construct.
Each of these development stages contributed to the specification of the tests.
2. and a single test covering this range would have been not
demotivating for most students. to the construction of a large body of test tasks.
2. In order to avoid fatigue or boredom effects for
individual students it was necessary to utilise an incomplete but linked design where
each student would receive only a proportion of the total test material.Turkey
UK
442
146
Grand Total
1538
Slovakia
Slovenia
Switzerland
Turkey
Grand Total
66
47
18
65
2409
Tasks were selected for the Main Study on the basis of the Field Trial review. A test for one skill would comprise 30 minutes of material. In the
Field Trial two tasks of each task type at each level were trialled in each language for
all skills. because parts would be far too easy or difficult.2. Reading and Writing.3 Targeted testing
An additional complexity followed from the early decision by SurveyLang to offer
students a test targeted at their general level.
developed by the language partners in order to maximize the quality and the
comparability of the final tests. Individual students would
therefore receive Reading and Listening.
A design constraint was adopted that the total language test time for a student should
not exceed 60 minutes. to test all aspects of a skill
considered important at a given level. that is. each sampled student was to see only a proportion of the
total test material. Students would be assigned randomly to one of these three groups. The best-performing task in each pair was selected for the Main Study.

writing
an email. to test lexicogrammatical relations)
matching texts to graphics (e. for ease
and consistency of marking:
multiple choice (graphic options.5 Task types
Section 2. descriptions of people to a set of leisure
activities/holidays/films/books that would suit each of them)
matching text elements to gaps in a larger text (e. extracted sentences) to
test discourse relations..g. e.g.
30
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.
For Reading and Listening it was preferred to use selected response types. extended response task types was proposed.g.Had it been possible to administer the entire survey via computer this requirement
might have been more elegantly addressed. five for Listening and four for
Writing. As it was. Some task types were used across more than one level. The next step was to map each ability to
a specific task type. true/false)
multiple choice gap-fill (gapped texts. postcard or letter.3.
To assign students to a particular level it would be necessary to administer a short
routing test to all participating students in advance of the ESLC. was to introduce
computer-based testing where national and regional technical capabilities allowed but
provide a paper-based testing alternative where participating countries had inadequate
levels of readiness concerning testing with computers. paraphrases to notices)
matching texts to texts (e. as stated in the Terms of Reference. The preferred option of
the European Commission. A rigorous design was proposed which could be replicated across
languages.and paper-based tests was called for.
To enhance comparability of test results.
2.
Eight tasks types were initially selected for Reading. e. with overlapping tasks to ensure a link in the response data across levels.
For writing a range of open.1 above describes the process of identifying the test content and the set of
testable subskills or abilities to be assessed.
persuade or convince). the same test material and the same design
principles were used for both modes. understanding at text level.
2. text options.2. thus maximising coherence and consistency in the implementation of the
construct.g. This was to devise tests at three
levels. a simple approach common to
computer. writing a referential or conative text (intended to inform. Section 2.7 provides
details of how this routing test was designed and used.2.g.4 Test delivery channel
The test delivery channel also impacted on the general design.

From the
provisional set of task types each partner produced exemplar tasks. discrimination. A few schools in
the state sector were included. and distractor analysis). Any texts or tasks that were found to be
inappropriate for the target population were excluded. A booklet of tasks and feedback form were created for this purpose.
the Adv
and NRCs where these were
in place. The majority of these were
private language schools or other institutions outside the state sector. Existing test materials were also adapted for
use in the Pilot Study. with each language partner focusing on a
different part of the ability range.
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. Feedback indicated general satisfaction with the task types. Care was taken to target learners of an appropriate age group. where this was seen to improve
the articulation of the construct. being 30 minutes in length. In total 34 trial tests
were created in Reading. reliability. plus the
routing test.
Feedback was elicited from teachers on their impressions of the tests.The 2008 Pilot Study informed the final selection of task types. as well as from
a range of stakeholders. The purpose of analysis
was to contribute to a decision on which task types to retain for the survey. Listening and Writing across the 5 languages. The review led to a reduction in the number of task types. The
feedback from the teachers of the students who took the trial tests was generally very
positive. Administration of the pilot tests took place in October
2008.
All analysis for the five languages was undertaken centrally. These tasks were
amended and edited to fit the specifications. and thus
define the item writing requirements. This ensured that the quantity of pilot material required for the
pilot study could be created in the short space of time available. Some
task types were retained but moved to another level. Partners were
satisfied that this reduction did not entail a substantive change to the construct. Tests followed
the design proposed for the ESLC. Over 2220 students in 7 countries completed tests in up to 3 skills. Given the relatively
small sample size agreed for the Main Study (1000 respondents per skill per country). A plan was agreed which achieved overall coverage
of the construct and some linking across levels. and the construction of
detailed test specifications and item writer guidelines for each of them. Selection of actual tasks for use in the Main
Study would follow subsequent stages (pretesting and the Field Trial).
it was important to avoid spreading responses too thinly over task types. From these a
smaller set of task types was selected and a draft specification written for each one
that was identical across all languages.
As
s language
partners made arrangements to administer the pilot tests through their own networks
of test centres or other contacts in different countries. Approaches
included classical analysis (facility. and subjective cross-language comparison of the performance
characteristics of the items.
Rasch analysis. All students were
studying one of the 5 languages as a foreign or second language.
The pilot test review thus focused on statistical evidence and feedback from different
stakeholders. A total of 106 tasks were
developed across the skills and languages. Age
ranged from 12 to 18 with the majority being between 15 and 17. including the Advisory Board and the participating countries.

announcement etc.
A newspaper/magazine article
on familiar everyday topic. The levels of difficulty
were finely graded from easier tasks to more difficult ones and the clarity and speed of
the recording was said to be excellent.
B1
Reading for detailed
comprehension and global
meaning. books).
Notice. Students agreed that topics were varied and suitable.
and a set of statements or
graphics paraphrasing the
message. text
organisation features.
Candidates answer 3option multiple-choice
questions.
Table 6 Main Study reading tasks
Task Test focus
Text type
Task type
Levels
R1
Identifying factual
information relating to
personal and familiar
themes.
A1
R4
Understanding the main
ideas and some details of
a text. cohesion and
coherence.
A1
Understanding signs.
Candidates match the
sentences to the gaps. feelings and
wishes in personal texts. there
was enough time. Candidates
choose the correct option. Table 6 to Table 8 below detail the final
selection of task types across the four levels for each of the three skills.
R8
Understanding text
structure.
Candidates choose the
correct option. understanding
attitude.
A1
R2
Finding predictable factual
information in texts such
as notices.
notices.Further feedback on content was collected during the subsequent pretesting phase. letter.
timetables.
3-option multiple choice
with graphic options.g. with
some visual support.
B2
R3
R6
R7
A2
A2
B1
B2
B2
B2: deducing meaning
from context.
3-option multiple choice
with short text-based
options focusing on
information.
A2
Reading 3 (B1) or 4 (B2)
short texts for specific
information.
B1
Text from which sentences are
removed and placed in a
jumbled order after text.
A personal text (email. opinion and writer
purpose.
postcard. with graphic
support.
Candidates match the
statements or graphics to
the correct notices
/announcements.
A text on familiar everyday
topic.
A2
R5
Understanding
information.
Short personal text (email.
32
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.
Candidates answer 3option multiple-choice
questions.
Candidates answer 3option multiple-choice
questions. announcements
and/or labels.
This was strongly positive. and a list in. films. menus.
note). detailed
comprehension and (at
B2) opinion and attitude. on
everyday topic. note).
A set of notices or signs etc.
announcements.
A set of 3 (at B1) or 4 (at B2)
Candidates match the
short texts (e. ads for
information to the text it is
holidays. and the instructions and layout were clear.
of information/attitudes that can
be found in the texts.

comparing
etc.
Short personal
text (email).
Candidates write an essay/letter
describing.
This comparability and quality required the close collaboration of the language
partners. giving opinion etc. To this end many items of high quality had to
be produced in a short space of time. pretesting.3 Test development process
The key aim was to produce language tests.
34
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. Field Trial.
Personal text
(email). letter. letter.
Candidates write a short personal
text making reference to the
picture/graphically-displayed
information.
B2
W3
W4
Writing a conative text
(intended to persuade or
convince). review.
A2
At B2 an article.
Candidates write a personal text
explaining. describing etc.
Short personal
text (email.
B2
An essay.
At B2 candidates write an article etc
explaining.
A1
W2
Expressing general or topicspecific notions in response
to input text and content
points.
The steps in the test development process are shown in detail in Figure 1 below. describing.
A1
Writing a referential text
(intended to inform). comparing. the results of which would be comparable
across all languages and in all countries. Main Study)
test specifications and item writer guidelines
test production process
item authoring tool and item banking system
quality control process
standard setting process.
Candidates write a short personal
text explaining.
A2
B1
B1
2.Table 8 Main Study writing tasks
Task
Test focus
Text type
Task type
Levels
W1
Expressing general or topicspecific notions describing
pictures or graphicallydisplayed information. based on adoption of the same:
test development cycle (pilot. explaining.
justifying.
essay.
postcard).
report. describing etc.

etc.
2. text length.2.
Each item writer therefore received a detailed commissioning brief specifying the task
types. In total.
Detailed item writer guidelines were developed for each of the three skills. number of options.3 Recordings and artwork
Professional recording studios employing native-speaker actors were used to record
all Listening sound files. level of distraction in the options. over 500 tasks
(2200+ items) were commissioned across the five languages. Given the large number
of item writers commissioned it was imperative to plan for adequate coverage of
construct. domains and topics for all tasks at each level across the five languages. input text length. etc.3.5 below).
Concerning the use of adapted tasks across languages it was agreed that all Writing
tasks would be adapted as would all Reading and Listening tasks at levels A1 and A2.
2. For
some languages.
36
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. Listening test rubrics were standardised across the
languages.
The work of creating and adapting these tasks was divided among the language
partners (see 2. Common
test specifications across the 5 languages ensured that tasks across languages were
almost identical in terms of number of items. levels and topics for to ensure adequate and consistent coverage of the CEFR
domains as specified in Test Content in section 2.
Over 40 specialist item writers were commissioned across the five languages. They
also provide explicit guidance on the selection and manipulation of text types and
topics. the number of items required for the Main Study was
calculated. These
guidelines specify the requirements of each task type at each level in terms of overall
testing aim. All artwork
was commissioned from professional graphic artists. Item
writers were organised into teams and managed by team leaders and specialist
language testing product managers.1 Test specifications and item writer guidelines
Following the Pilot Study.3. As the pretesting and Field Trial stages were intended to enable selection
of the best performing items for the Main Study.3. and the production of artwork and recordings. a much greater number of items than
required for the Main Study were therefore commissioned. A common style for producing artwork was agreed and the production of
the graphics for all tasks was shared out among the five language partners.1. item writers specialised in certain skills. levels or task types. testing focus.2 above. Quality criteria relevant to each
task type are listed and these criteria provide the basis for the acceptance.2 Commissioning
Before item writing began. the test specifications were reviewed and finalised.3. rejection
and editing of tasks as they proceed through the item production process.

experienced item writers vetted tasks from other languages to
ensure that tasks.5 Collaborative working methodology
The common approach to item development described above was considered
essential if the resulting tests in five languages were to be comparable in the way they
related performance to the CEFR. It not
only provided an additional quality control. Figure 1 also illustrates how each task was
thoroughly and repeatedly checked and proofread by external professional proof
readers and signed off by internal team leaders and test production managers before
being used in test construction.
Task adaptation worked as follows. if not a quicker. way of generating new tasks
37
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.
2. items and options would operate correctly
a vetting form was created to ensure that vetting comments could be recorded
consistently and electronically
vetting comments were then passed back to the original language partner who
could then compare comments from both their own vetters and the vetters
from other language partners. A proportion of the Reading and Listening tasks
were adapted across languages.3.
A review conducted at the end of the Pilot Study confirmed the value of crosslanguage vetting as an additional stage to the standard test production process.3. it also enabled the sharing of knowledge
and experience among the language partners.2. Each language partner was asked to adapt some
tasks from two of the other four languages. to
ensure they were fit for purpose. detailed test production process illustrated in Figure 1 above ensured
that tasks were trialled several times before they appeared in the Main Study. and the use of task adaptation.
Cross-language vetting worked as follows:
tasks from each language were vetted by at least 2 other language partners
multi-lingual. Two specific aspects of this process are worth
noting: cross-language vetting.
The multi-stage.4 Quality control
Quality control procedures were included in each stage of the test production process
which was developed for this survey. There were several purposes for adapting
tasks and including them in the pilot:
it was seen as a valuable context for developing collaborative working
stimulated much critical reflection and interaction
it might be a possible way of enhancing consistency and comparability across
languages
it might offer a straightforward.

Table 9 illustrates the statistics used in selection for English Listening in a summarised
form. recording
this in a spreadsheet with a justification. coordinators. In almost
all cases. it was deemed practical and desirable to adapt the same set of
writing tasks into all languages. In this way one task from each pair. the judgement agreed with the analysis. It
appeared that most task types used in the Pilot Study could be successfully adapted
from one language into another if the aim was to adapt but not translate.
There were relatively few task pairs where the selection could be motivated by
statistical evidence alone. teachers and students.
N responses: the combined number of CB and PB responses.
All five language teams then discussed the tasks common across languages.The Pilot Study review also confirmed the value of adapting tasks across languages.
38
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. taking into account
feedback from administrators.e. With analysis completed all tasks were again
reviewed. Item writers needed to be aware of lexicogrammatical differences between
the languages and how these differences might affect the perceived difficulty of the
items. in
separate meetings for each skill. The only task type that appeared difficult to adapt was the multiple-choice cloze
task where the testing focus was largely lexicogrammatical. all the Writing tasks and the A1 and A2 Reading and Listening tasks.
All tasks were subject to expert review by each language team. was selected for the main survey. In this table:
Selected indicates the selected task.
taki
from NRCs and QM reports. In two cases the judgment of the teams went against
statistical evidence.
i. common across the
five languages.6 Selection of tasks for the Main Study
In the Field Trial two examples of each task type per level per skill per language were
trialled.
2. At Field Trial review one task from each pair was selected for the main survey. collected in the
NRC and Quality Monitor reports.
Each language team selected one task from each pair for the main survey. However. this time combining expert judgement with the statistical analysis. One spreadsheet was then created detailing
the selection and the justification for all the common tasks across the five languages.
For the skill of writing.3. Each of the common tasks was again reviewed.
Facility: the mean score on a task as a proportion of the maximum score. the
process needed skilled item writers who were competent in two or more of the
languages. Smaller
numbers mean that less confidence can be placed in the statistics.

however.Table 10 Distribution across domains
Domain
Main Study tasks
Grand
Total
A1
A2
B1
B2
43%
38%
34%
11%
(60%)
(50%)
(40%)
(25%)
57%
50%
47%
50%
(30%)
(40%)
(40%)
(50%)
0%
12%
16%
33%
(10%)
(10%)
(20%)
(20%)
0%
0%
3%
6%
professional
(0%)
(0%)
(0%)
(5%)
2%
Grand Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
personal
public
educational
31%
51%
16%
2.
. Thus they could also be used in the pilot to anchor the Reading and
Listening tests to existing proficiency scales.3 above. Each test was 15 minutes long.2. Each candidate completing the Reading
and/or Listening test would also take the routing test. and further revised for
the Field Trial. all tasks could be linked. This was considered
adequate to the purpose of the test: to make a very broad classification into three
levels.
It is worth sta
-related proficiency
scales had no direct impact on the final standard setting process (see Chapter 11).
40
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. there is no doubt as to the great practical utility for the development of
having such points of reference. already
calibrated on a scale related to the CEFR. to the extent that the
routing test was linked to the CEFR. ordered to be progressive in difficulty.
The routing tests were developed and trialled in the Pilot Study.7 The routing test
As explained in 2. the decision to adopt a targeted testing approach
necessitated the administration of a routing test for each language. as conceived and implemented by each
language partner.3. so that. which would be
used to place students into one of three level groups. and for simplicity consisted of 20
Reading-focused items.

other things being equal.5 above.
The requirement to administer a routing test added to the administrative complexity of
the ESLC. SurveyLang accommodated these requests. responses for Reading and Listening were captured and
automatically marked against an answer key. The first two of these focused on functional
communication. this was not a required procedure. or a comparison with exam
results. Thus
the cut-offs for the routing tests were modified where thought fitting.
The final allocation determined what proportion of students saw the low. but was used to allocate the student to an appropriate level. an early design decision was to use objectively-marked task
types for Reading and Listening.4. Paper-based tests had to be manually
marked in-country and the marks uploaded to a central point.
2. and subjective marking for Writing. The tool allowed
double mark entry. Communicative command. Nor did the
score on the routing test influence the sampling probability of any student. In a few cases countries proposed an alternative procedure to
the routing test: a teacher-rated can-do questionnaire.1 Marking of Reading and Listening
For computer-based tests. and countries were recommended to use a proportion of double
keying as a check on quality.The score on the routing test did not count as part of the language test performance of
any student. with reference to
the consequences in terms of allocation. depending on the
participating country. NRCs ensured that the scores
from the routing test were returned to SurveyLang so that students could be allocated
to a low. the second two on formal linguistic features
the scales had five score categories (0-4)
41
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.
2.4 Marking
As noted in 2. However. that a sufficient
number of responses were collected for each level for the purpose of analysis.
For the Field Trial and Main Study an electronic data-entry tool was provided to
countries.2 Marking of Writing
The approach to marking went through several revisions between the 2008 Pilot Study
and the Main Study. It was
administered to all eligible students or to the sampled students only.4.
Discourse and Linguistic accuracy. It was considered important. fully customised to contain the IDs of all sampled students. NRCs ensured that schools administered the routing test.2.
2. middle or
high-level tests.
The mark scheme originally used for the pilot was somewhat complex:
it contained four analytic scales: Task fulfilment. medium or high level test accordingly.

training.
Figure 2 Marking of Writing against exemplars
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~
~~
~
A1-A2
tasks
1
2
3
lower
higher
Lower
exemplar
Higher
exemplar
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~
B1. one for A1-A2 and
one for B1-B2
the scheme could also incorporate task-specific elements. but rather a level where a
roughly equal number of worse and better performances might be expected to be
produced. to make marking quicker and easier. The number of tasks a student responded to was reduced to 3 at Level 1.
In preparation for the Main Study further revisions and additions were made to the
design of the Writing tests. Choice and use of the exemplars did not pre-judge the subsequent
standard-setting.
was lower than. exemplars were not intended to
represent a specific performance level in CEFR terms. The same two criteria Communication and Language were used for all
4 test levels.marks were to be awarded in the order that the scales are listed above
there were two slightly different versions of the scheme.
42
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.B2
tasks
1
lower
2
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
~~
3
4
5
higher
Four criteria were retained at B1-B2.
At the Field Trial stage a different and quite innovative approach was introduced. As explained in training.
Exemplars were chosen at a level to elicit the widest possible range of marks. 2 or 3. the marking criteria. aiming at quicker marking and fewer missing or partial
responses.
2 at the higher levels. For levels A1-A2 one exemplar was provided. equal to or higher than an exemplar
text. and quality assurance
procedures. but just two at A1-A2. defining a 3-point scale: 1.
For the B1-B2 levels two exemplars (a higher and a lower one) defined a 5-point scale. and
were informed to an extent by Field Trial experience of the general level of the student
population for each language.
see Figure 2 below.

The item authoring tool is web-based and allowed item writers across Europe to
create items with task templates created directly from the test specifications. and consistent
implementation and presentation of test tasks.
In paper-based format this was done in booklets created by the test assembly tool and
in computer-based format the tasks were signed off in CB tests created by the
rendering tool. aiming at improving the accuracy of marking. were to be returned to SurveyLang for central marking. All multiple-marked scripts.
Evidence from trialling and pretesting suggested that students had no real problems in
understanding how to respond to the test tasks in their paper-based form.3 Systems support: the testing tool
Close collaboration between partners in the development of the tests. were supported by the item authoring.
Pretesting used test material authored on and generated out of the testing tool.
The reviews following the Pretest and Field Trial phases led to a series of
amendments to tasks.
aiming at more reliable comparison across countries. the test design (see section 2. The
instructions included in the paper-based and computer-based tests were also rendered
provision of additional on-screen help in the CB mode was thus felt to be unnecessary
(and would have been very expensive).
Tasks were checked and signed off in both paper-based and computer-based format. automatically generated feedback on
performance.Training procedures were improved.
2.
banking and test assembly functionality of the testing tool specifically developed for the
ESLC. Changes to the tasks. The Field Trial enabled a full-scale trial of every aspect of
the testing tool.4 Ensuring familiarity with the form of the tests
Much consideration was given in the language testing group to how to ensure that
students would be sufficiently familiar with the form of the tests for them to
demonstrate their ability. the items could be uploaded directly into the shared item bank. or rerecording of audio files all led to updating of the test material on the system.
2. with more stress on practice and standardisation
of marking. At the time of test production. with provision of detailed.
rather than a proportion.4. See Chapter 6 for further details of the testing tool
functionality. commissioning of new graphics.
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
.5)
was implemented in the testing tool so that full tests could be produced in both
computer and paper-based formats. This item bank
also allowed the language partners to describe their tasks using exactly the same
system of metadata. though
not administered through it.4. Once
created.

Testing time: The bottom row of each table is the total testing time for the test form
(booklet). in the test design for Reading.
Familiarisation materials were created with descriptions of the task types and sample
materials. They were reviewed following the Field Trial. G=German. 7.
R=Reading.
For the Main Study both paper-based and computer-based familiarisation materials
were available.It was decided to make familiarisation material available to students or teachers who
wished to make use of it. The sample computer-based tests on the SurveyLang website enabled
the student to choose a language to be tested in.
each of 7.
Two tasks were required for a linked design and since the B2 level tasks were
30 minutes each and the B1 level tasks were 15 minutes the total testing time
was greater than the 30 minutes as specified in the original design.
For Listening at Level 1. All test booklets are 30
minutes except for Listening level 1 and Writing level 3. However. F=French.5 Final test design
Table 11. but not to impose a compulsory familiarisation activity as part
of the test administration in schools. W=Writing).
For Writing at Level 3.5. 15 or 30 minutes. L=Listening. for Reading 18 and for Listening 7.
The seventh column is the time load for each task: 5. Booklet 1 consists of 4 tasks. For example. the total testing time for each booklet is 45 minutes. The
original design was for 30 minutes but it was agreed by the Advisory Board
after the Field Trial that 6 tasks was too many for Level 1 students and the
number of tasks was reduced to 5. These materials were
made available by the NRCs to all participating teachers and were available on the
SurveyLang website. I=Italian and S=Spanish.
On the right are a number of columns filled with coloured blocks. More
explanation on this is given below. Additional clarification was
added to the School Coordinator Guidelines to stress that the tasks were intended only
for familiarisation and only if teachers judged this necessary. Table 12 and Table 13 below illustrate the test design for each skill. as well as the language for the onscreen instructions
2.5 minutes making a total testing time of 30 minutes.
Each table consists of a number of columns:
The leftmost column contains the test task ID in a generic way.
The second to sixth columns contains the specific task labels across
languages (E=English.
only a small proportion of the total number of students received these
44
First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. The columns
represent test form (test booklet)
different test forms have been defined. The
paragraphs below describe how to read the test design tables. the total testing time for Booklet 1 is 25 minutes.

The coloured cells: A coloured cell (with a number written in it) indicates that the task
(row) is part of the test form (column).
Italian: Note. all green cells precede all dark blue cells
and these always precede all light blue cells. Note though that the Italian designs are
mapped to the design for the other languages and therefore although a smaller
number of booklets are used.
B1 or B2. green for the A2
tasks. In constructing the design the following principle has been used
throughout:
All tasks at a lower CEFR level precede all tasks at a higher CEFR level. four different colours have been used: yellow for the A1 tasks.
The next two positions (between the dashes) indicate the task type as
illustrated in Table 6 to Table 8 above. the booklets used match the design used for the
booklets for the other four languages. To help in structuring the perception of the
tables. three.
The generic task ID which is in the leftmost column is constructed in the following way:
The first two positions indicate the CEFR level of the task. four or five tasks are coloured. A2.
In each column of a table (each test form) two.
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First European Survey on Language Competences: Technical Report
. dark blue for the B1 tasks and light blue for the B2 tasks.booklets: those at level 3 and receiving one of the combinations of skills that
included Writing. This can be A1. there is a different design for Italian which takes into account the smaller
number of students taking these tests.
The numbers written in the coloured cells indicate the sequence of the tasks in the test
form (read vertically). All
yellow cells precede all green cells.